Aaaah, the Rhine River Cruise is now in the rearview mirror and we thought we would share a few take aways. All of our hotels were in excellent locations that allowed us to explore the areas around Zurich, Basel and Amsterdam. And explore we did! We became much more comfortable in using public transportation which included: buses, trams, trains, metro lines, ferries, canal boats and then of course the ship.
And about that ship! Going into the cruise I think we were all somewhat skeptical about taking a cruise, and we were wondering what we had gotten ourselves in for. We all loved the adventure and would do it again! The food was delicious and the service was fantastic. We enjoyed the ability to have shared meals with others and getting to know them and hearing their stories. Many of our shipmates had traveled with Viking before and were anxious to return. It was very interesting to hear the stories of some of the staff that worked on the ship. One in particular was Petru, who was from Romania. He told stories about his home country, his wife and even taught Nick how to say thank you in his native language.
The excursions provided by Viking were great and the local guides were quite informative. We feel very fortunate that the weather was mostly nice. There was only one afternoon when we got rain (which didn’t stop us). There were so many things that made this trip extra special: sharing the adventure with friends, meeting a travel angel on a local train, visiting cathedrals and museums (especially loved the time at the Van Gogh Museum).
Thankfully our flights in both directions were without incident. While Nick and I returned home to Houston, out travel partners continued on…..
Mark and Bonnie flew from Amsterdam to Dublin, Ireland to meet up with Mark’s siblings.
Written by Mark Bollwinkel:
When Julia Bollwinkel died in February 2025 at the age of 97, she didn’t want a religious ceremony or a lot of fuss. Her remains were interred with my father’s at the Dixon National Veteran’s cemetery at the conclusion of a small family gathering. Much to the surprise of her four children, mom directed a significant portion of her savings to fund a trip to Ireland for the four of us. Her mother’s family home was in Ireland and it would give the four of us the opportunity to be together. Family gatherings were some of her highlights in life and she wanted a special one for her children. We are halfway through a ten day Irish adventure and loving every moment with lots of memories and laughter. Thanks Mom for yet another gift.
The following are pictures shared by Mark and Bonnie:
Dear Mark and Bonnie, As you travel through Ireland and then on to the United Kingdom to share time with friends may your days be filled with lots of love and laughter. Enjoy the special friendships and we look forward to the when we can be together again. Love and Hugs, Nick and Robin
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